General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
U-159 sinks the "City of Bombay"
Posted by:
Mifletz
()
Date: August 27, 2015 08:55PM
from www.jewishtelegraph.com last week
"LETTERS
Sunk by u-boat
WITH reference to a brief mention in the Jewish Telegraph of Avery Lionel Bernstein's time in the Merchant Navy during the war, you may be interested to learn that I spent more than two years as a radio officer sailing on various ships, mostly in convoys.
One of the ships, called City of Bombay, carried cargo to India.
Regrettably, the ship was torpedoed in the South Atlantic.
I was instructed by the captain to send out distress calls.
Soon it was very obvious that the ship was sinking fast and those who could jumped into the sea.
I was able to swim to our lifeboat about 300 yards away.
There were a lot of crew trying to get into the boat, but it soon became swamped and capsized.
A lot of sailors drifted away, but I hung on to the side for what seemed an age - in fact, seven hours.
The submarine (U-boat 159) surfaced at dawn, but offered no help. I'll never forget it.
I heard later that the "159" sank a large number of merchant ships in the area.
We had a problem with the weather. During the day it was very hot and during the night very cold.
We were able to ration our food and water. After five days, things became very bad.
On the fifth day, we saw what we thought was a miracle. In fact, it was a small cargo ship called Star of Cairo, which seemed to be sailing towards us.
By now we were very weak and had to be helped up the gang ladder.
The Egyptian crew were very kind and looked after us as best they could.
It took us to Cape Town where they were also very kind and bought uniforms for the officers.
Seven of us were hospitalised for a few days.
After two weeks we were shipped back to England and given leave.
Basil Sufrin,
3 Chudleigh Close,
Altrincham,
Cheshire. "
"LETTERS
Sunk by u-boat
WITH reference to a brief mention in the Jewish Telegraph of Avery Lionel Bernstein's time in the Merchant Navy during the war, you may be interested to learn that I spent more than two years as a radio officer sailing on various ships, mostly in convoys.
One of the ships, called City of Bombay, carried cargo to India.
Regrettably, the ship was torpedoed in the South Atlantic.
I was instructed by the captain to send out distress calls.
Soon it was very obvious that the ship was sinking fast and those who could jumped into the sea.
I was able to swim to our lifeboat about 300 yards away.
There were a lot of crew trying to get into the boat, but it soon became swamped and capsized.
A lot of sailors drifted away, but I hung on to the side for what seemed an age - in fact, seven hours.
The submarine (U-boat 159) surfaced at dawn, but offered no help. I'll never forget it.
I heard later that the "159" sank a large number of merchant ships in the area.
We had a problem with the weather. During the day it was very hot and during the night very cold.
We were able to ration our food and water. After five days, things became very bad.
On the fifth day, we saw what we thought was a miracle. In fact, it was a small cargo ship called Star of Cairo, which seemed to be sailing towards us.
By now we were very weak and had to be helped up the gang ladder.
The Egyptian crew were very kind and looked after us as best they could.
It took us to Cape Town where they were also very kind and bought uniforms for the officers.
Seven of us were hospitalised for a few days.
After two weeks we were shipped back to England and given leave.
Basil Sufrin,
3 Chudleigh Close,
Altrincham,
Cheshire. "
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
U-159 sinks the "City of Bombay"
|
Mifletz | 08/27/2015 08:55PM |